JudoMom Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 What can you guys tell me about Curves? I exercise for at least 30 minutes daily, but am thinking a change in routine might do me good. There is a Curves that is close to my house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 In my opinion it is not worth the time or money. I went and did a trial time with them but did not continue past the free trial. The exercises were not enough for someone of my age (I noticed a lot of elderly in there) and I'm not fit to begin with! My Dr. also advised me against it because he said that the rate of injury is high when your muscles are having to change from one exercise to another in such rapid succession. I have muscle problems though so that last part might not apply to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 What can you guys tell me about Curves? I exercise for at least 30 minutes daily, but am thinking a change in routine might do me good. There is a Curves that is close to my house. I know that it is VERY popular here. There is a Curves in my teensy-weensy town and it is always full. People will come from all over the area. It is a circuit exercise thing. You alternate between being on a machine and being on a mat for 30 minutes. I think it is 3 minutes per spot, and there is music playing. It is kind of fun, but upon first glance it is misleading. You'd think the mat time would be simple, but it's actually the more strenuous part. The machines are for strength/weight and the mat is for cardio. The times I went, I noticed some people cheat by using the mat time to just stand there. Other people would really use it to work up a good heartrate. I think you'll get out of it what you put into it --- much like any program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 My mom works at one. I used to laugh at her that she was going to Curves. (Said in a sing-song-y voice) Man, she is more toned and in the best shape I have ever known her to be. It helped her lose a lot of weight, too. It has been a huge life change for her. She loves it. If you have any specific questions, let me know and I can ask her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 I go and it's a great way to get aerobic exercise for 30 minutes in a fairly painless way. I like the variety of the machines and I like talking with the other ladies or even just listening. I jog on the pads in between the machines. If I didn't do that, I would not be able to get my heartrate into my target range. It is not a place where you are going to do a lot of muscle building, but I have toned up some and dropped some weight and it's really helped my back quite a bit. I do agree that there are a lot of older ladies there. I am about 10 years younger than most of the people that go, but honestly, I'm not looking to have a "hardbody" anymore and I hate the feel of gyms like Olympus. I love that Curves is all women and I can just roll out of bed and head over to work out. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 I would love to go if I could. I did go a couple of times with the free trial, but since I had/have kids, I didn't go back. I don't have anyone to watch the kids when I'd want to go. Actually, on second thought, I think there is one fairly close to me and I could go when dh gets home from work.... :) (I'm not a morning person, so there's no way I'd go before he leaves for work) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsbaby Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 My mom (she's 55) went and said it was a bunch of elderly women doing more gabbing than exercising:). She said they would take their sweet time going from machine to machine. My mom is not in great shape and she said she never even broke a sweat. I guess it depends a lot on the environment if your local Curves. Ours was apparently more of a gossip-fest than anything else!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 When I was considering it some years back, my doctor (also a nationally-ranked power lifter) didn't recommend it. He also didn't like how the mechanics worked on your joints and that it was not as weight-bearing as some in terms of protecting against age-related bone loss. Of course the biggest issue for anyone is convenience. If your options are limited and the hours are right, it may be the best choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 You can go see it and try a workout for free. I considered joining one but found out a family membership at the Y was better and more cost effective AND offered childcare. AND has more variety of workout equipment, group fitness classes and so on. I did do some asking around about Curves when I was considering them though and got lukewarm responses at best, the majority seemed to feel it became boring and/or wasn't all that effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 Tried it, didn't like it. I'd say it's better than nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 I managed a similar place (same equipment and concept, different franchise). It CAN be a good workout, but it all depends on the person and the facility. The way the hydraulics work is that the harder/faster you push (or pull) them, the more resistance is created. It takes focus. If you just go through the motions, it isn't going to do much good. Though that could be said of a lot of things! I think the biggest drawback to these places is that it can be difficult to use the correct settings when several other people are doing the circuit at the same time. The machines are adjustable for height/length, as well as tension, but you could have people of all sizes trying to use them, and adjusting each time cuts a good chunk off of the intervals. Not only is that annoying, but it can be bad for your joints to use a machine that isn't set properly for your size. Plus, at a "regular" gym, people are expected to wipe down equipment when they're through. If they don't, the next person always has the ability to do so themself. On a fast circuit, that doesn't really happen much, due to the time factor. I don't want to touch/sit in other people's sweat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 Never tried it, but my sister did. She didn't like it, and when her "free" trial was up, she couldn't just stop. They kept calling and hassling her, and she had to go down and fill out some kind of paperwork to get out, so they wouldn't charge her membership fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 If you count Curves, I have six gyms within 15 minutes of me. I did a week trial at most of them a year ago, and ended up at one associated with a hospital because they have a nice facility, are happy to have my kids sit in the lobby with the receptionist (they are too old for childcare everywhere else), have a good variety of classes/equipment, and are very rehab-oriented, which is what I need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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